How Could the Coronavirus affect the Argos and the CFL

[Argo57]

Argo57 is absolutely right in his argument that MLSE's deep pockets should enable the Argos to handle the financial issue better than most. Reference to the team's difficulty in bouncing back, was addressing the issue of attendance. The Argos have experienced serious attendance issues in last few years and no games this season could exacerbate that problem, especially if other leagues (NFL,MLB etc) manage to play this season. Once fans get into the habit of not going to games, it is easy to continue with that habit.

Sorry for not being specific enough about the concern.

No worries Shatto.
The attendance issue will be a long term fix, how to solve it is another story?
The first step would be a consistently competitive and entertaining on field product (which Pinball has eluded to), an unexpected Grey Cup win followed by miserable seasons wont suffice IMO.
Some semblance of roster stability would help as well however the current contract structure will make this difficult, I think the Argos strategy of concentrating on local talent is very smart and will help in this regard.

[AngeloV]

No worries Shatto.
The attendance issue will be a long term fix, how to solve it is another story?

Not that I want this to happen, but I can't help but wonder if a completely cancelled season might make some fans that have neglected the league for one reason or another start to appreciate it after it's been missing. I wonder if a lost season might actually help in the long run for increasing attendance.

[jerrym]

The attendance issue will be a long term fix, how to solve it is another story?
The first step would be a consistently competitive and entertaining on field product (which Pinball has eluded to), an unexpected Grey Cup win followed by miserable seasons wont suffice IMO.
Some semblance of roster stability would help as well however the current contract structure will make this difficult, I think the Argos strategy of concentrating on local talent is very smart and will help in this regard.

Part of that stability should be drafting players from the Toronto region (including Hamilton), especially when one player does not stand out above the others when a given pick is made, as many Canadian players migrate back to their home cities in free agency because of family, familiarity and sometimes job opportunities. I'm glad to see that the Argos have already started to do that. This should be factored into even more in a draft year where the rookies may not even get to play and be one year closer to free agency before they step on the field to play. Drafting Toronto players makes even more sense for the Argos since the region's population is the greatest in number and potential talent in the country.

[1971GreyCup]

Part of that stability should be drafting players from the Toronto region (including Hamilton), especially when one player does not stand out above the others when a given pick is made, as many Canadian players migrate back to their home cities in free agency because of family, familiarity and sometimes job opportunities. I'm glad to see that the Argos have already started to do that. This should be factored into even more in a draft year where the rookies may not even get to play and be one year closer to free agency before they step on the field to play. Drafting Toronto players makes even more sense for the Argos since the region's population is the greatest in number and potential talent in the country.

That approach is consistent with the Argos player signing since the 2019 season. Local players have been signed and their local presence being promoted. I’ve heard that in the NCAA, when two prospects are equivalent, the local prospect wins. The thinking is that the local prospect will put more paid seats in the stands.